Follow Nina, but continue to stay alert. This could be a trap or the monster could return anytime and attack again.
Name: Randolf Osborn
Appearance: Ugly as hell. Smells like rotten fish. Very brutish.
Magic path: Channeler Ascetic
Mana: 2!
Strength: D6
Speed: D6
Endurance: D12
Knowledge: D4
Will: D12
Senses: D4
Ongoing effects:
Inventory:
Sealer Suit D4
White Robes
Shield
Wooden Club D6
Backpack
Lantern
100 feet of rope
29 gold coins
2 silver coins
Air bladder
Aqua Vitae
Ferry ticket
Ask the captain to make a temporary stop so we can see what the guy on the shore is yelling about.
(sheet next time, please)
[6v5]
Randolf talks the ship's captain into bringing the ship over to the shore, convincing him that its for safety reasons and that the man might have important information on the monster that attacked the ship. Both he and Nina disembark and wade over to shore where the man is waiting. He's a tall man, so skinny and pale that combined with the circular spectacles he wore he bore a distressing resemblance to a skeleton. He has a wide brimmed hat on his head and wears some sort of long black coat or cloak that covers whatever he has beneath it.
"Greetings." The man says, apparently a little out of breath from all the yelling, "My name is Mogul, I am an exorcist. The creature you just killed" he waves a hand at the river, "Was the wife of my current client."
Seeing as the brainiac way doesn't work, I will go ahead and break one of this guy's fingers in the hope the pain wakes him up.
Name: Écalir Speedwagon
Appearance: barbarian, think Arnie from Conan the Barbarian
Magic path: Hunting flesh-scroll
Strength: d10+2
Speed: d10
Endurance: d8
Knowledge: d4
Will: d6+1
Senses: d6
Mana: 21
Ongoing effects:None
Magical materialsleft Arm: wood
Right arm: Insect
Stomach: Strong acid
Chest: White Phosphorous
Left buttcheek: Electricity
Right buttcheek: Lightning
left leg: multiply
InventoryQuality weapon (Spear): d8
Longsword with glowing runes
Springy metal warpick: d8
Springy metal knive: d6
Springy metal sword: d6
9 smokebombs
Thaumic flamethrower (50 thaum tank, d10 str requirement, armored fuel tank) + extra canisters with compressed gas
Fitted armor: d8
Shield (+1 to protective rolls from armor)
Backpack
100 feet of rope
Bandages
Tattoo Kit
250g worth of gems
doctor's bag
You reach down, grab the man's index finger on his right hand and calmly twist it to the side until you feel a crack. The man groans lightly, sort of an "eughh" but doesn't stir otherwise.
"This is some good poison. Should get ourselves some of this."
Hmm well you could keep inflicting more pain but chances are it won't have any more of an effect. Best to either try to find an antidote or to maybe let him sleep it off. The stuff seems designed to induce sleep or paralysis as opposed to straight up killing so they clearly wanted to take you alive. Assuming the man doesn't die from the hole you put in his lung, he should wake up eventually.
Probably.
Could I scrape a bit of the poison into a vial or something and go search for someone in the city who could help me identify it and return before Ecalir's match starts? If yes, do so.
If not, then just start turning the corpse of the headless guy into thaum.
Name: Darwin Zeppeli
Appearance: An old medicine man.
Magic path: alchemist gut-reader
Strength: d4
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8
Senses: d10
Mana: 22
Ongoing effects: None
Magical materialsVacuum!
Reanimate
Sharpen
Viscera
Diamond
Inventorydissection knife: d4
Springy metal knive: d6
Springy metal sword: d6
Springy metal halberd: d8
Curved blade: d6
Icepick: d4
gun: d8
9 smokebombs
Medium armor: d6
Ecalir's old armor: d8
Sealer Suit: d4 (vs magic)
shield (+1 to protective rolls from armor)
Alchemist’s Gear
250 gold worth of precious gems
Sack of jewels worth 169 gold
BETS:
-50 on Ecalir winning his third match
-25 on Ecalir winning the tournament
A glass slab with a topographical map of the kingdom carved into it
a bottle of glowing blue sea water, inside protective box with lock
a glass orb with barely visible lotus inside of it, inside staff assembly.
magic coin
Small book
magic compass + map Loaned to Lupanian
Doctor's bag
set of ingredients (plants, chemicals and the like) for making poisons or antidotes (15 uses left)
High quality backpack
donkey named Yvonne for carrying
Zomboraptor head
Lantern
several hundred feet of rope
climbing crampons
a grappling hook
iron stakes
net made of rope
several vials with imp fat
20 vials
good quality book&pen
good history book
[2v4]
You're not sure who you would go see about this...you'd have to wander the whole city. However more pressing matters are at hand: You arrived within moments after the failed assassination (presumably because you're so in tune to events not happening to you~) and you and Eclair have been trying different things for maybe a few minutes. But now you can hear people coming towards this little out of the way changing room, no doubt drawn by the sounds of combat and following the trails of terrified urine from the assassins that survived back to their source. Converting a body into thaum will require time and...it won't look great if they just see you doing that.
No officer, I swear we didn't murder a passerby to fuel our magic, honest.
Open the Sarcophagus, Grope the undead. Commune with Ghosts. Continue to be naked and covered in wet, sticky goo.
The Ascetic Ghost Shepherd
A thin, wiry guy. Hazel eyes. Black hair. Long fingers.
Stats
6 str
6 spd
10 End
8 Know
10 Will
4 sense
Mana: 5
Materials: Porcelain
Inventory:
Inhabited by a Spirit - a little shepherdess girl. Likes dolls. Adventurous. (Current request: a toy (probably a specific kind, but she is being vague))
One catamaran sailboat
Ghost Charm
Doctor's Kit
Lantern, Rope, Backpack
5 gold
[4v2]
You plant your feet on the rocky outcropping and slowly lift the lid of the sarcophagus, twisting it off to one side until it grinds free and slides down into the depths. You see something, which is impressive because your eyes are closed. It looks like a beetle of some kind, as big as your fist and sporting what look like a pair of stag antlers. It glows bright white in your mind's eye and then flies into your head. You can hear or maybe feel its fluttering wings inside your skull.
"They didn't see it as such, what they saw was a giant boar who was attacking them unprovoked, which is why they put a bounty on you and why I'm here. Though perhaps we could come to an arrangement that benefits everyone, how about we visit the town and talk to the person in charge?"
Should it accept the offer, return back to town with the boar in tow.
Name: Robert Grant
Appearance: A stocky, tall man with black hair.
Magic path: Hunter Sculptor
Strength: d10
Speed: d6
Endurance: d8
Knowledge: d8
Will: d8
Senses: d4
Ongoing effects: None
Mana: 0
Materials:
Shrink
Inventory:
War axe D8
Doctor's Bag
Leather armor D6
Bandages
Backpack
Lantern
14 mushrooms
"Tempting. I would prefer peace but how am I to know you are not leading me into a snare? For that matter I doubt that your kind would honor such a bargain; you are notorious for throwing off 'unfair conditions' if it should mean the furthering of your own greed. I will accept a covenant and not less, sealed by your kind to preserve balance on pain of the loss of that which they seek if they fail."
Proceed to the stairs. If I see anyone, consume their essence until they die.
Name: Zavirius En-Drani Haver, Painter
Appearance: A girl of unknown but apparently foreign decent. She claims to be the last surviving member of a long-dead ancient race, kept preserved in some kind of magical stasis, but this is likely untrue. Though her skin is a strange shade not normally seen on the continent, and her hair is bleached white with a slight green reflective tint. She is not very tall but stout like a dwarf and startlingly strong. The clothing that she wears is very minimal.
Mana: 0
Method: Flesh-Inscribed Channel
Materials: Lightweight, Explosion
Strength: d10
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d8
Will: d8+1
Senses: d6
Ongoing effects: Okay?
Inventory:
nothing!
The stairs spiral up a good 20 feet, so steep and tightly turning that you practically have to climb up on hands and feet. They open up onto what appears to be a guard room of sorts. Its about 15x15, carved crudely into the stone, with a few lit torches along the walls, two beds and a table with chairs. One of the chairs has been knocked over backwards and there was a card game on the table, unfinished. Apparently the guards had been pulled away from their game to come help with you. However...the game has only two players, meaning the third man must have been a messenger or servant come to get you. They'll be expecting him back soon.
The only way out of the guard room is a door. The door is...odd, out of place. Its a rich wood, stained to bring out the woodgrain and carved with decorative designs. Not the sort of door you would expect for a dungeon guard station. Maybe it opens out into a fancy room?
Can't people just throw normal parties?
Lets wait until tomorrow, and see some new patients, then. The last three are the person with the chronic illness, the 'fool', and the woman with the "Consuming" disease. Begin with the consuming disease.
Japanese girl with a long black braid and a white and red dress with long gloves and stockings.
Invoking Empath
Str d4 -> d6
Speed d8
Endurance d10+1
Knowledge d4+1
Will d10+1
Senses d8
Items:
15 mana
47 coins (gold) {paid 10 gold deposit on a cougar/red-tailed hawk griffon familiar and 35 gold for bounties.}
d6 armour: The outfit, naturally. Weighs as if it were d4
Backpack
100ft Rope
Waterskin
Compass
Hat
Sun Goggles
Surgical Tools
Materials: d12 Ape, d12 Grow, d12 Strengthen, d12 Expand.
Location: Lunare
Status: Fine. Burn scars on arms.
Notes: Improving physical stats with strengthen, d4->d6 is d6, d6->d8 is d12, d8->d10 is d20 or more.
Mental stats are possible, but harder or more complicated.
You head to bed and attempt to sleep till the next day but you wake up sometime in the middle of the night. You blink your eyes and find that your little rented room is filled with a dull green light. It flows and shimmers, like light moving through water, and is coming from your little high set window. You climb onto the bed and peer out through the window; you can see more light dancing around the city but it seems like your window is facing the wrong direction; the source is coming from an angle and you can't see it. You become aware of a strange noise in the air. A rattling, like dry branches in the wind, combined with a sort of indistinct fluting noise.
Depends on the amount.
How much for one man, for one day?
And, relatedly, Approximately how long would it take to trek to Kaolin on foot? Both following roads and cross-country.
How down on their luck are we talking?
Let's start with 'nihilistic death march' and work our way up from there.
While I'm at it, check out jobs boards for any errands which need to be run to the Kaolin area or any surrounding towns. Might as well recoup some of the costs by delivering a letter or something while I'm up there.
Purchase:
- d8 hunting rifle (50 gold; might as well get a nice one)
- Backpack (1 gold)
- Lantern (1 gold)
- spyglass (4 gold)
- Thick winter clothing (d4) (10 gold)
- Climbing gear, 200 feet rope (7 gold)
Total cost: 73 gold
(added/deducted to/from inventory as appropriate)
Name: Frick Varmer
Appearance: An enthusiastic, young-middle-aged man. Between his ridiculous magnificent hat, the strange bird always perched on his shoulder, and his unbridled curiosity for arcana in all its forms, he is clearly either a wizard or an eccentric fool. Or, more than likely, both.
Magic Path: Alchemist Invoker
Mana: 0
Stats:
Strength: d4
Speed: d6
Endurance: d8
Knowledge: d12
Will: d8
Senses: d6
Ongoing Effects: None
Materials: Alcohol (d12)
Inventory: pointy hat (worn), box of thaumic junk, empty book and ink pen, alchemist's gear, 27 gold coins. (Carrying: alchemist's gear, book and pen)
New purchases:
-Hunting rifle (d8)
- Backpack
- Lantern
- Spyglass
- Thick winter clothing (d4)
- Climbing gear, 200 feet rope
Familiar: A small crow, which shares its master's inquisitiveness.
Strength: d4
Speed: d8
Endurance: d4
Knowledge: d6
Will: d6
Senses: d8
1 silver.
On foot, assuming you go straight there with no side trips or distractions, two weeks or so.
If they're that bad off you can probably talk them into going for nothing but their rations and the chance to die. Of course people like that might...behave a little erratically.
You check the boards. Oh hey, someone needs their father's ashes taken to the temple in Kaolin. Must be some noble because they're offering a tidy sum.
"Scum lizards, Bug eaters, Bloody Worms and uh... Dickbags. There! Every insult I know. Now time to give those aristocrats a good- oh wait the party started.
...
I should probably introduce myself now."
Move in with the rest of the crowd and introduce myself to the most fanciest person there. They're probably the ones holding this big party blowout.
Name: Velis Yeslerp
Appearance: A man on the cusp of adulthood. His hair is slicken back, his lizard scale jacket, unbuttoned. He walks with an air of confidence.
Magic path: Servant Sculptor
Mana: 0
Strength: D6
Speed: D6
Endurance: D6
Knowledge: D8
Will: D10
Senses: D8
Ongoing effects:
Inventory:
Guitar
Rusty Dagger-d4 attack
Lateran
Lizard Scale Jacket-d6 protection
Ghost Charm
4 silver
Inhabited by a spirit which he calls Priscilla. It manifests not as a tangible form, but as a presence around Velis. Background noise gains a musical rhythm, people close to Velis may feels a tingling sensation in their extremities, and other spirit related happenings.
Spirit Quest: Find a nice instrument for Priscilla
Sculptor Quest: Wood from a tree that grew in a battlefield, The Achilles tendons from 6 different men, six human teeth, a fragment of sword blade, and a lacquer made from the sap of a Wormwood.
Materials: Lightning
You meander your way into the home, talking your way past the guards by showing them the summons for musicians and your instrument. They wave you past with...frankly a bit more expedience and agreement than you were expecting. However, rather than letting you mingle they quickly direct you -by means of a hand on the shoulder and a brisk walk- to a small back room. There are about a half dozen other musicians in the room, all tuning up and getting ready. The room appears to be the anteroom to a stage and the guard tells you to wait here, get ready, and then come out onto the stage when called for.
Toss a javelin
Name: Venandi
Appearance: A cryptic figure, wearing a solid bone mask, and covered head to toe in furs and leather reinforced with bone, antler, tooth, horn, and all other manner of once living material. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that this figure has hundreds of beads and talismans, again made of bone and like materials, threaded on as well. This person also carries a wicked barbed spear, that seems to inflict pain just by looking at it.
Venandi is a hunter, once scouring the lands for greater and mightier beasts (and men) to fell. Venandi now uses their skills just to survive; but is always looking for path back to glory.
At one time Venandi joined a Cabal, and was known as Zamia the Lost. That time is now as lost as the the rest of the past. And that name is now as forgotten as Venandi once was.
Magic path: Hunting Gut-reader
Materials:
Rope
Diamond
Mana: 5
Strength: 1d10
Speed: 1d6
Endurance: 1d6
Knowledge: 1d8
Will: 1d4
Senses: 1d10
Ongoing effects: N/A
Inventory:
Barbed spear (1d8)
Hunting trophy armor (1d6)
Atlatl and javelins (1d6)
Backpack
Bandages
Box of thaumic junk
10 gold
Map
Magic compass
[5v6]
You throw one of your javelins at the pool. It gets within 5 feet of the water before a thick tentacle lashes out of the water and slaps the weapon away. More tentacles rise out a moment later and the massive bulk of an octopus the size of a horse slides out of the water. It stares at you with giant, alien eyes before snapping up several pieces of debris and flinging them at you in rapid succession.
[1v1]
The bits of debris hurtle towards you and you stay exactly where you are, stunned by the sight of the giant mollusc. The makeshift bullets wiz right past you, sailing through open air to either side of you. Apparently it expected you to dodge and tried to anticipate your movements. When you just stood there, it completely foiled the creature's attempts.